Wednesday, April 03, 2013

'THERE WILL BE ANOTHER DAY.....'By Peadar O'Donnell ; first published in January 1963.
I woke PH O'Donnell out of his bed, and he told me that I was the greatest fool of a man that ever walked the roads - he said I would hang and it would be the price of me and he hoped he would live to see it. The silent men around me who packed the hallway and overflowed into the large kitchen listened in bewilderment. PH noticed the water dripping from their clothes and ordered them into the shop , but it was only with a nod from me that they went.
He gave every man a complete set of underwear and a pair of corduroy trousers and he got his household to cook a meal and he himself helped. Ever since the campaign against land annuities became talked of, PH spoke his own views : ' it was all a piece of rascality, the man at the back of it was touched.' PH and I lived in that sort of noisy, warm relationship - it was he now who passed on the word to Hughie O' Donnell , and I had invoked his help.
The raid on Croveigh was a great piece of theatre : the bailiff and his escort were cheered and jeered from empty byre to empty byre across empty fields , women giving the civic guard escort a bad time. I expect Colmcille got credit for the whisper that saved the glen! It is likely that the sheriff's office got suspicious of our local bailiff who sent back decrees marked 'No Goods' , for out of the blue a bailiff from Letterkenny side came into the townlands on a day before a fair and he got clear away with most of the stock of one of our fighting families....(MORE LATER).THE BETRAYAL OF 1916 - - REVISIONISM EXPOSED.....From 'IRIS' magazine, Easter 1991.By Martin Spain.
De Valera concentrated on removing the last vestiges of overt British rule in the 26 Counties , for instance running down the office of Governor General , provoking the 'Economic War' by refusing to pay any more land annuities and abolishing the Oath of Allegiance. On the substantive question of tackling the very real British presence in the northeastern corner of Ireland, de Valera copped out.
His republicanism was one with a very small 'r' , and he proved just as adept as his Cumann na nGaedheal predecessors at repressing republicans. He accepted the de facto partition of the country * while making pious claims of sovereignty over all of Ireland in his 1937 Constitution **.
The revisionist school owes much to the latent sense of guilt felt by the Irish establishment in relation to the Six Counties ; the 'I'm all right Jack' approach taken by the leadership in the South to the pogroms , gerrymandering and paramilitary oppression of the likes of the B-Specials suffered by nationalists ruled by the Unionist ascendency from Stormont left the ground ripe for the revisionist school in the 1970's.....(* - At the time he wrote that piece [ie 1991] , the author and his party, Provisional Sinn Féin, were five years in to having recognised partition by stating , in 1986, their intention to operate within the political parameters of the 26-County partitioned State / ** - a State Constitution which the author and his party abide by!)(MORE LATER).MY FRIEND , THE ENEMY....In 1922 , former Irish republicans requested assistance from the British Army in an action intended to secure a military and political position for themselves in the 'pecking order' of a then new British-supported Statelet. At the time, those that called-in ex-'enemy' equipment did so, they claimed , 'to save lives in the long run'.And now , 91 years after that fact, former republicans with that same Free State mentality have done it again : they requested that "....the (British Army) Ministry of Defence send helicopters.." but, this time, it was to 'do battle' against the weather. For humanitarian reasons , of course, but doing so begs at least two questions : why, up to now, did Provisional Sinn Féin consider it taboo in the past to request such assistance from those they would then have regarded as 'the enemy' (and, indeed, would have defended and excused attacks on people like that) and however did we manage in the past in such bad weather before it was deemed 'acceptable' to request aid from the British Army ? By their actions in this instance , Provisional Sinn Féin have set a precedent with which they can integrate themselves further into the 'establishment' (and not only in the Six Counties, but in Westminster, Dublin and Washington, too) and have greatly assisted the British in their 'Normalisation' process. But then, as history has shown, it is only 'normal' behaviour for 'poachers turned gamekeepers' to behave like that, in their rush to exorcise their past.LABOURING UNDER AN ILLUSION. The State Labour Party's Death Warrant - irrevocable.They are worried , and rightly so : they cheered , slagged and slow-hand-clapped from the sidelines both in Leinster House and outside of that IMF HQ as the Greens were being wiped out , assured by comments from ex-Sticks Rabbitte and Gilmore that the same fate would never be encountered by their State Labour Party , as it was 'a bottom-up policy-led fully democratic party that listened to and was guided by its membership and voters...' etc etc. Well , if they are listening to their membership and voters then the leadership of the farce that is the State Labour Party will know that the game is up - there is nothing they can do now to reverse the trend. That leadership should now overtly (instead of covertly) go all out to feather its own nest and place 'its people' on even more State Boards and quangos in the hope that , in the next few years or so, those so placed will be able to return the favour by at least spinning some 'good news' stories about that Party , thereby helping to ensure their return to Leinster House. Or, at least , to some county councils around the State, for starters.Those who still doubt that the 'colour' of that Party is red will have their doubts dismissed at the next election , local or 'General' , by the splattering of blood in the count centres. And that's a pretty picture : red on a Green background ! And , while we are on the subject of the doomed State Labour Party , what do Eamonn Gilmore and Tom Cruise have in common ? They are both facing 'Oblivion'.3RD APRIL 1925 : THE UNIFORM CHANGES BUT THE ATTITUDE REMAINS.From this.....A member of the Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP), a British creation in Ireland....to this - A member of the State 'Garda Síochána' , a Free State creation in Ireland.A history of the former (DMP) will show that between 1836 and 1925 , approximately 13,000 men passed through its ranks , some of whom were 'awarded' the 'King's Police Medal' whilst others transferred to the DMP from the 'London Metropolitan Police'. Other like-minded colleagues joined the gang , having developed a taste for it in the RIC. This group changed uniforms again on this day (3rd April) in 1925 , and again changed its name - to that of the 'Garda Síochána' , but kept its by-now infamous attitude : to defend the State - whether British or the Westminster-permitted 'Free State' in Ireland - by the same methods.And thesearethemethods that Irish republicans and other 'Lefties' , as the State see us , have experienced from that State militia , whatever it may call itself. Since their inception , the State 'Police Force' have attempted to present themselves as a 'neutral' body , dedicated to 'keeping peace' in society , regardless of the circumstances : the truth , as those of us who have 'dared' to challenge this unjust system , is (as per those four links) much different - they see their position as one in which to preserve the status quo , whether same is dictated to them from Westminster or Leinster House. They may not know it yet but one day (hopefully!) soon, they will have to change again , but this time it will be more than just a change of uniform.MORE PICS FROM THE GPO , EASTER MONDAY 1st APRIL 2013.......can be viewed here. There are more 'out there' , and videos , and if I get links to them I'll post them on this blog as soon as possible and, whilst searching around this interweb thingy for them , our 'Junior' came across this - - the Memorial Card issued for Pádraig Pearse. Similar items can be viewed here.Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

Monday, April 01, 2013

RSF DUBLIN EASTER 2013 COMMEMORATIONS - BRIEF REPORT AND PICS.Cait Trainor , RSF Ard Chomhairle, delivering the main oration at the GPO , Dublin, Easter Monday 2013 (1st April).The Deansgrange Commemoration on Easter Sunday (31st March 2013) went as planned , but I won't have a report or pics re same for a few days - I do know that a decent crowd attended and that those at it received plenty of 'attention' from the Special Branch , but proceedings were not interrupted due to same.Three of the regulars : Matt (left) , Dan on the stage and Paddy in the background, Easter Monday , Dublin, 2013. The main Dublin commemoration was held today (Easter Monday , 1st April 2013) at the GPO in O'Connell Street - a very chilly O'Connell Street , but a dry one - at 2pm, after the parade had made its way to that venue from the Garden of Remembrance , where at least eight 'Special Branch' men and twelve of their uniformed colleagues done their best to upset proceedings, but failed to do so. An RSF Colour Party from Dublin led the way , followed by uniformed reps from Cumann na mBán and Na Fianna Éireann , and an Irish Republican band from the Occupied Six Counties was also in the Parade. Approximately 200 people stood with us in O'Connell Street at the GPO for the duration of the commemoration , with dozens more coming and going during the eighty-minute time frame. All 400 'leaflet packs' were distributed , as were sixty 'leaflet scrolls' , each of which contained three republican printed items.Making its way from the GOR to the GPO..........and arriving there.Commemoration Chairperson Andy Connolly , opening proceedings.A full report on the Deansgrange and the GPO Easter Commemorations will be published in the April 2013 edition of 'Saoirse' but , until then, the following few pics will have to do you !"Unbroken Continuity" banner at the GPO ,Dublin , 1-4-13.As viewed from the back.Cait Trainor addressing the crowd.Na Fianna Éireann member at the GPO , Dublin , Easter Monday , 1-4-13.Dipping of the Flags , GPO , Dublin , Easter Monday , 1st April 2013.....and two short videos here -

Apart from the usual (and expected) State harassment - more so at the Garden of Remembrance than at the GPO, where they were content to just view and record the proceedings - this Commemoration went as intended , and all concerned are to be congratulated for their work.Thanks for reading,
Sharon.